A court reporter is a person whose occupation is to transcribe spoken or recorded speech into written form. The services of court reporters are typically used to transcribe testimony in legal proceedings, such as depositions attendant to litigation. For purposes of brevity, discussion is herein limited to depositions, although it is to be understood that the invention is not so limited to any particular environment.
Human speech typically includes more words per minute than a typical person could write or type, which precluded transcription into English. So called “shorthand” is a written format that uses symbols or abbreviations instead of letters, and for which the transcriber (referred to herein as a stenographer) can transcribe at a speed that equals human speech. Court reporters use a specialized typewriter called a stenotype machine to type in shorthand. The written product appears as a foreign language to those unfamiliar with it, and the court reporter will later have to provide a written product readable English. This final written product is known as a written transcript.
The court reporter is typically present in the room with the individuals that will be the subject of the transcript. The court reporter listens to the conversations in the room and types what each person says using the stenotype machine. The court reporter is also an active participant in the conversation, and will transcribe his or her own speech as they would any other participant in the room.
Accuracy of the final transcript is of paramount importance. The court reporter will therefore record the conversation through a tape recorder. Later, when preparing the final transcript, the court reporter plays back the recorded conversation to confirm what was said and that the final transcript is accurate. Modern stenotype machines also have an audio recording feature that synchronizes the conversation with the typed shorthand, which has proven a valuable tool in streamlining the translation and editing process. The synchronization has become industry standard and is effectively a requirement of the transcription process.
In recent years, attempts have been made to conduct depositions through video conferencing. This not only spares the participants from the burden of travel, but the court reporter does not need to be physically present with the participants. This allows the parties to access a court reporter in remote areas, as well hire a court reporter at a lower hourly rate from a less expensive geographic area.
A problem with depositions by video conference is that the quality of the audio from the video conference as recorded in the stenotype machine is inferior to an in-person deposition. This makes it more difficult for the court reporter to rely upon the recording to edit and confirm the accuracy of the transcript.
This problem is discussed with respect to FIG. 1, which shows a set up for a court reporter (not shown) to transcribe the audio of a video conference. The court reporter is located at a home location at 100, and the other participants are located at one or more remote locations, generally shown by 120.
At home location 100, a computer 102 that supports video conference software is connected to a network, and conducts the video conference in a well-known manner. The court reporter listens to the audio 106 of the remote participants to the video conference through the computer speakers 104 (shown as independent and external to computer 102, although they could be internal speakers) of computer 102.
As noted above, the court reporter is an active participant to the conversation, and that voice must be included in the recording in the stenotype machine 112. The court reporter must therefore use a separate microphone 108 and position it at the workstation so it can receive both the video conference audio 106 from the computer speaker 104, as well as the court reporter's voice (shown as audio 110). The captured audio is then stored in stenographic machine 112 in synchronization with the court reporter's typing. The captured audio may also be stored in one or more backup recording devices 114.
The audio as stored in the stenographic machine 112 in synchronization with the court reporter's typing is of lower quality as compared to an audio recorded in an in-person live deposition. Several factors contribute to this inferior quality. First, the audio of the remote participants as received by computer 102 must first be converted to audio 106 and then recorded by microphone 108; the audio signal->speaker->microphone->audio signal conversion introduces a natural degradation in quality (a “picture of a picture”). Second, microphone 108 is located a distance from the speakers 104 and the court reporter; such distance naturally reduces the quality of the recording. Third, microphone 108 can also capture other ambient sounds 118; this can be problematic if several court reporters at a service center are located in close proximity to each other.
Various video conference applications have a built in recording feature that produces a recorded version of the conference call on completion. However, the copy is not synchronized with the stenotype machine, and thus of limited value to the court reporter.